Wordless Wednesday

We are family

My sister and her kids came for a long weekend once we returned from our road trip. It's always so much fun to get the cousins together. Even though we had a house full with kids aged 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, & 14, everyone had a blast! We love it when they visit!

Something to raise an eyebrow at

We got home from our trip on a Wednesday and Ryan went in for surgery on a Thursday. This time he worked with Dr. Limmer to get some new eyebrows. Dr. Limmer and his staff are so wonderful and welcoming. And they do amazing work. It was all done in the office with local anesthetic. It was completely pain free. Ryan slept through most of the procedure. They removed a section of skin from Ryan's beard and sewed him back up. (I was in the office and watched them do this. First time I've ever been allowed to watch a surgery. Wow!) Then they put the skin under the microscope and removed each hair follicle. Next, they planted each follicle in Ryan's eyebrow region and Ryan had eyebrows! Apparently, the hair will grow for a few weeks and then all the hairs will fall out. It will take another 3 or 4 months for the hair to grow back and then we'll see what worked and what didn't. We expect he'll have another round of hair transplant to fill them in at that time.

Before

During

After

Less than a week later, on July 1st, Ryan had surgery on his right hand. They put a small graft on his palm, did some z-plasty between his thumb and index finger and index and middle fingers, and released some tendons inside his hand. Surgery went well and Ryan is feeling fine. He has a cast on his right hand to immobilize and protect the graft. He'll have the cast until the 23rd.

Road Trip part 3

We had so much fun in North Carolina that it was a lot more difficult convincing everyone to get back in the car for the four day drive home. The only bargaining chip I had was our visits with friends in Beaufort, SC, and Pensacola, FL. And still, I had no camera to document these visits.

Both families we visited were friends from college that continued on to the Marine Corps. It was funny to see how much our families had grown in the time since we'd last seen each other. We did our best to catch up with all the significant events of the last few years and spent some time laughing over old memories from days long past. It was wonderful and Ryan and I left feeling blessed to have so many amazing people in our lives.

There's nothing like old friends.

Can you tell that my girls want a dog?

When we left Pensacola, I remembered we'd eaten at a place in Mobile, AL, on one of our cross country trips 5 years ago. They had these batter dipped fried crab claws that were to die for. I didn't know the name of the place, but I knew it was right off the highway and near a bridge (Ha! How's that for details!). Surprisingly, when we got to the exit, I knew we were there and we drove right to it. The name of the place is Felix's Fish Camp and it's worth stopping for, even if you don't know where you're going.

Road Trip part 2

Now don't be mad at me.

But when we got to North Carolina, I forgot that there are thunderstorms almost everyday in June that will dump rain for 15 minutes and then make the rest of the day muggy and miserable. So, while we were enjoying the morning on one of our first days there, I was taking pictures of the kids outside playing. I put the camera down so I could push someone on the swing and then forgot that I even brought my camera outside. It wasn't until hours later when I stood at the kitchen sink and looked out the window that I realized the shiny silver thing on the roof of the playhouse getting soaked in the rain was my camera. I ran outside, getting drenched in the process, and retrieved my camera in vain. It was too late. Destroyed.

So, all that to say, I do not have nearly enough pictures from our road trip. The ones I do have, I took with my iPhone. I should have gone out that day and bought a new camera, but I didn't, and I'm kicking myself for it now.

I did manage to capture this sweet moment with my girls sharing a bed.

And this would be Noah's future bride if I could arrange the marriage.

It was hard to find time to see everyone we wanted to see, but we couldn't leave town without visiting Noah's godfather.

Much sooner than we were ready for, it seemed it was time to get back in the car and hit the road.

We had such a good time visiting our friends, who are really more like family. And our gracious hosts, Mike and Jennie, always manage to make us feel right at home. Thanks!

In addition to all the fun we had, Ryan made arrangements to get into a Cobra simulator and see how things were working. He was happy to discover that his hands were not a problem at all. And while getting in and out was more of a challenge than it used to be, it was doable.